Long-handled tools or implements, such as shovels, hoes, and pitchforks have been in use for many years. Such implements typically have a metal head (such as the blade of a shovel) with a tubular neck portion that receives an elongate wooden handle. While such implements generally work well, their handles can be easily overstressed at the neck where bending stress concentrations develop, causing the handles to crack, snap, or loosen at that point. Such stresses are particularly great when, for instance, the free end of a tool handle is forced in a fore or aft direction while the implement head is embedded in hard earth or similar material. To overcome the foregoing problems, tool handles have been made out of stronger materials than wood, such as fiberglass or metal. But such handles are expensive and difficult to retrofit on existing tools.
To strengthen existing wood tool handles, reinforcing devices such as metal straps and rods have been attached to the handles. Such devices typically extend along substantially the entire length of the handle, and are fastened to the handle by screws, rivets, staples, or the like, which can weaken the handle. Such strap or rod reinforcing devices tend to be heavy and expensive, and may catch the hands or gloves of a user when the handle is gripped.